Fire-box for locomotives



(No Model.)

MKBARNEY 87,- M. C. HAWLBY.

FIRE .BOX FOR LOGOMOTIVES..

Patented Apr. 4,18 82.

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UNITED NSTATES PATENT OFFICE,

MICHAEL KEARNEY, OF NORTH SPRINGFIELD, AND MELVILLE O. HAWLEY,

OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Fl RE-BOX FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,869, dated April 4, 1882. I

Application tiled January 4, 1882. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, MICHAEL KEARNEY, residing at North Springfield, Greene county, and'MELvILLE C. HAWLEY, residing at St. Louis, both in the State of Missouri, citizens 'of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Boxes for Locomotive and other Boilers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, 1o` and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a vertical longitudinal section of a lire-box embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a transversevertical section, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

Like letters refer to like parts wherever they occur. l Our invention relates to that class of fur-- naces or fire-boxes for locomotive and like boilers which operate on the downdraft or base-burning principle, and has for its objects toenlarge thearea of the heating-surface of the furnace, increase the strength and durability of the construction, to facilitate the making of repairs when needed, to economize 'fuel, and in a great measure, if not entirely,

prevent the formation of smoke.

To this end it consists mainly `insueh rela- 3o` tive arrangement of the pendent waterpartition, the grate, and a bottom water-space, which is continuous with the boiler, as will Vcause the ame, &c., to impinge on the bottom water-space, whereby the heating of the 3 5 boiler-water is facilitated, the temperature of the furnace-.walls preserved sufficiently high to permit complete combustion and prevent lthe deposit of carbon or formation of soot, and the Wear on the furnace is limited to a 4o position where repairs can be most readily made.

lt consists, secondarily, insuch arrangement of the hre-box arch or 'diaphragm above the fire-box With relation to the crown-sheet andpendent water-partition as shall provide an expansion-chamber for the gases and products ofcombustion within the furnace and prevent the draft from impin gin g on the crown- `ments communicating with the water-space of the boiler, so as to permit a circulation of wa ter through the same, and therefore do not herein broadly claim such elements, either singly or in combination; but, so far as we are aware, the arrangement of these elements has not been such as to cause the flame to impinge on the waterspace forming the floor of the ashpit and to prevent the downdraft from abstractin g heat from the water-spaces of the 7o fire-box, which are the special features of our invention, and are material for the following reasons: First, because in order to prevent the deposit of carbon or formation of soot it is essential to keep the walls of thefurnace on which the flame and products impinge at a high temperature; secondly, because the walls upon which the flames impinge are destroyed more rapidly than other portions of the furnace, and therefore should be so located as to 8o be most readily repaired and, thirdly, because in case a deposit of soot, Src., takes place it should be caused to do so, not in the less accessible iues, but where it is comparatively unobjectionable and can be readily removedas, for instance, in the ash-pit.

t Having thus distinctly indicated the scope of our' invention, we will now proceed to de scribe a construction adapted to produce the desired results, so that others skilled in the 9o art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, A indicates a boiler, which in the present instance is a locomotive-boiler, having flues a, communicating water-legs a' b c c, and water-bottom b, which form continuous water chambers, inclosin g the furnace.

d indicates the fuel-chamber,which is formed by a series of tubular grate-bars or pipes, ec, extending transversely across the furnace and communicating with the water-legs c c of the boiler, a vertical water-table or pendent partition,C, which also extends transversely across the furnace and communicates with the waterlegs c c, and a tire-box arch or diaphragm, D, which extends from the inner wall of the water-leg b above the draft-door, thence forward to the water-,partition G. g

The tubular grate-hars may be arranged in a single line at such a distance apart as will permit the free passage of the products of combustion, but, in order to facilitate the feeding` down ofthe fuel, the escape of the products of combustion and ashes, are preferably arranged in two or more broken lines or in steps, as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 1. 'In the outer sheil of the boiler, opposite the ends of the tubular grate-bars, are a series of plugs, e', which may be removed for the purpose of cleaning out the bars or for removing worn and replacing new bars. pendent partition Gis arranged at the front of the grate and at such distance from the flueshect as to leave an ascending flue or combustion-space, F, into which the products of combustion escape from the ash-pit E. This partition Gis extended above thegrate sufficiently to obtain a desirable depth for fuel in chamber d and also a space between the top ofthe fuel and the bottom plane of diaphragm D for the introduction and circulation of air necessary to support combustion, and it projects below the grate sufficiently' to direct the` heat and flames in effective proximity or in direct contact, asmay be desirable, with the water-space b at the bottom of the lire-box.

The lower'end of water-partition C may be curved or inclined, as at c5, to increase the deflection ot' the liame and products of combustion. In the outer shell of the boiler, opposite the lower part of partition C, is a plug, c3, for cleaning out the partition (l.

The top of the fuel-chamber is closed by a diaphragm, D,which extends from side to side across the furnace-chamber, and from the inner wall of the water-leg b to the top of the partition C, and may, it' desired, be provided with adraft-door, d2. This diaphragm is above the draft-door h, and may be arranged parallel with the crown-sheet a3, or it may be inclined, as preferred, so longl as an expansion and combustion chamber, Gr, is left between the top of the fuel-chamber and the crown-sheet.

The diaphragm serves to prevent the incoming air for supporting combustion from impinging on the crown-sheet and obstructing heat from the water-spaces or from passing directly to the flues, and causes itto descend through the fresh and the incandescent fuel.

. At the bottom of the boiler, under the ashbox and combustion-chamber, is awater-space, b, which connects with and opensinto the front, back, and side water-spaces, thus makinga con- The vertical water-table ortinuous water-space. This bottom water-space is formed by a top and bottom sheet, the top one being the sheet which forms the bottom of the ash-box, and the bottom sheet being the lower outside shell ot' the boiler. The lower sheet of outside shell of boiler, instead of being flanged, so as to necessitate riveting on the inside of the tire-box, is backed up in flanging, so that all riveting is done on the outside.

h indicates a fuel and draft door for thefuelchamber, and lt a door for the ash-pit.

The construction beingsubstantially as specified, the fire may be started by means of the upward draft through door h and draft-door d2 of diaphragm D, it' preferred, after which, the ash-pit door h and draft-door d2 being closed and the door It of lthe fuel-chamber being opened,the draft will be downward through the fresh fuel, causing the gases to pass through the incandescent fuel. The incoming air, being deflected by the diaphragm D, will not impinge on or abstract heat from the crownsheet, and the liame, Ste., being directed by the downward projection of the water-partition C, will impinge on the bottom of the-ashpit. The plates forming the bottom ofthe ashpit or the ashes, dac., thereon, will thus beash-pit E into the-flue F on their way to the flues a, and the combustion-chamber Gr, above the fuel-chamber and between' the same and the crown-sheet, will not only give an increased heating-surface, but will permit such expansion of the gases, &c., as will insure complete combustion within the furnace and prevent the choking of liues a. The step or broken-line arrangement ofthe tubular grate will not only facilitate the feeding down of the fuel and they removal of ashes, but will assist in directing the products of combustion toward the rear of -the ash-pit, or, in other words, toward the ashpit door. By means ofthe plugs in the outer shell of the boiler the tubular bars and the pendent water-partition may be cleaned out at will. Worn bars maybe removed and new bars inserted.

Having thus set forth the nature and advantages of our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. ln a downdraft-furnace of the class shown, the combination, with a tubular water-grate composed of two or more lines of transverse tubular bars and a water-space which forms the bottom of the ashpit, said waterspace communicating with the boiler, of a pendent partition,which forms the front wall of the fuelchamber, projects below the grate, and causes "the flame and products of combustion to im- ICO Irs

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pinge on the waterspace,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a grate, of a pendent partition, which projects below the grate and is inclined or bent at a point below the grate to increase the deflection of the ame and products of combustion, substantially as and for the purpose specified. p

3. The combination of a grate composed of two or more broken lines of transverse bars, with a Vertical partition, which projects below the bars and is inclined or bent to increase the deflection of the flame and products of combustion, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

' 4I' The combination of the grate composed of two or more broken lines of transverse tubular bars with the pendent waterpartition, which projects below the bars, the water-partition and the bars communicating with the water-.legs of the boiler, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses, this 31st day of December, 1881.

MICHAEL KEARNEY,

MELVILLE C. HAWLEY.

Witnesses:

EDGAR G. CHADwIoK, JOHN WRAY. y 

